Journalist Don Lemon was released from custody Friday after he was arrested and hit with federal civil rights charges over his coverage of an anti-immigration enforcement protest that disrupted a service at a Minnesota church.
Lemon was arrested overnight in Los Angeles, while another independent journalist and two protest participants were arrested in Minnesota. He struck a confident, defiant tone while speaking to reporters after a court appearance in California, declaring: “I will not be silenced.”
“I have spent my entire career covering the news. I will not stop now,” Lemon said. “In fact there is no more important time than right now, this very moment, for a free and independent media that shines a light on the truth and holds those in power accountable.”
The arrests brought sharp criticism from news media advocates and civil rights activists including the Rev. Al Sharpton, who said the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is taking a “sledgehammer” to “the knees of the First Amendment.”
A grand jury in Minnesota indicted Lemon and others on charges of conspiracy and interfering with the First Amendment rights of worshippers during the Jan. 18 protest at the Cities Church in St. Paul, where a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official is a pastor.
In court in Los Angeles, Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Robbins argued for a $100,000 US bond, telling a judge that Lemon “knowingly joined a mob that stormed into a church.” He was released, however, without having to post money and was granted permission to travel to France in June while the case is pending.
Defence attorney Marilyn Bednarski said Lemon plans to plead not guilty and fight the charges in Minnesota.
Lemon, who was fired from CNN in 2023 after 17 years at the network, has said he has no affiliation to the organization that went into the church and that he was there as a journalist chronicling protesters.
“Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done,” his lawyer, Abbe Lowell said in a statement earlier Friday.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi promoted the arrests on social media.
“Make no mistake. Under President Trump’s leadership and this administration, you have the right to worship freely and safely,” Bondi said in a video posted online. “And if I haven’t been clear already, if you violate that sacred right, we are coming after you.”
Civil rights attorney previously arrested
A prominent civil rights attorney and two other people involved in the protest were arrested before Lemon last week after disrupting a service at the Cities Church in St. Paul, where a local official with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement serves as a pastor.
The U.S. Justice Department launched a civil rights investigation after the group interrupted services by chanting “ICE out” and “Justice for Renee Good,” referring to the 37-year-old mother of three who was fatally shot on Jan. 7 by an ICE officer in Minneapolis.
Cities Church belongs to the Southern Baptist Convention and lists one of its pastors as David Easterwood, who leads an ICE field office.
“We are grateful that the Department of Justice acted swiftly to protect Cities Church so that we can continue to faithfully live out the church’s mission to worship Jesus and make him known,” lead pastor Jonathan Parnell said.
The U.S. has a long history of protests inside places of worship, but religious congregations have tightened security protocols in recent years as deadly attacks on houses of worship and safety concerns have intensified. Two children were killed at a church shooting in Minneapolis last August.
The Justice Department’s swift investigation into the church disruption stands in contrast to its decision not to open a civil rights investigation into Good’s killing by an ICE officer. The department has not said whether it will open a civil rights probe into the Jan. 24 killing of 37-year-old Alex Pretti by federal officers.
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Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison accused the Trump administration of “extortion” for demanding the state hand over voter data as it continues its deadly immigration enforcement actions in the state. Ellison told As It Happens host Nil Köksal that the presence of thousands of ICE agents in Minnesota has his neighbours, and his legal immigrant wife, living in fear.
Funding becomes a flashpoint
“Instead of investigating the federal agents who killed two peaceful Minnesota protesters, the Trump Justice Department is devoting its time, attention and resources to this arrest, and that is the real indictment of wrongdoing in this case,” Lowell said.
The federal government’s Operation Metro Surge has led to protests elsewhere in the U.S. in addition to Minnesota, and the funding of the Department of Homeland Security has been a flashpoint in discussions to avoid a partial government shutdown beginning this weekend.
Trump, dating back to his first presidential campaign in 2016, has lashed out at Lemon on social media in response to news coverage, referring to him as the “dumbest man on television.”
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Several people who Trump has felt antagonized by, mainly politicians and officials, have faced indictment or the threat of prosecution so far in his second, non-consecutive presidential term.
Democrats in Congress have accused the Justice Department of casting aside previous guardrails of independence to do the bidding of Trump, who promised “retribution” in his 2024 presidential campaign.
The high-powered Lowell, who in the past served as attorney for the president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, is currently representing New York State Attorney General Letitia James, Federal Reserve board member Lisa Cook and ex-Homeland Security staffer Miles Taylor. Each has been the target of a Justice Department probe.
Pretti probe taking place
The Justice Department has opened a federal civil rights probe into the death of Pretti, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said at a separate news conference.
“We’re looking at everything that would shed light on that day,” Blanche said.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan says immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis needs to be safer and more targeted. The change in tone comes after persistent unrest and the killing of two Americans by federal agents.
The development followed confirmation by the Department of Homeland Security earlier in the day that the FBI would now lead the probe into Pretti’s death.
Blanche, in response to a reporter question, affirmed that the activity of “left-wing groups” was being probed. White House officials have accused protesters of illegally interfering with the activities of immigration agents, with some even suggesting without evidence that they are being paid as a part of an organized effort.
Trump in a social media post early Friday described Pretti as an “agitator and, perhaps, insurrectionist.”
Blanche has previously said there was no federal investigation taking place into the Good shooting.
“Cases are handled differently depending on the circumstances,” Blanche said Friday when asked about the two incidents.
Minnesota officials want to investigate the deadly incident involving Good, but have expressed frustration at a lack of co-operation from federal officials.
Trump earlier this week dispatched his border czar, Tom Homan, to Minneapolis, with controversial Customs and Border Patrol official Greg Bovino leaving the state after having made a number of incendiary comments.
Homan said Thursday he wanted ICE and CBP agents to focus on strategic operations targeting criminal offenders. Agents have been accused of randomly stopping people on the street to demand documented proof of legal U.S. residence or citizenship and engaging with protesters.
Homan made mention of a potential drawdown of the size of the administration’s contingent in Minnesota, but there were no specific announcements on that front.
When asked by a reporter Thursday night if the administration was “pulling back” in Minnesota, Trump responded: “No, no. Not at all.”
